Modern communications and data networks are comprised of nodes that transport data through the network. The nodes may include routers, switches, bridges, or combinations thereof that transport the individual data packets or frames through the network. Some networks may offer data services that forward data frames or packets from one node to another node across the network without using pre-configured routes on intermediate nodes. Other networks may forward the data frames or packets from one node to another node across the network along pre-configured or pre-established paths. Some networks also implement packet loss measurements to determine the quality of connections. Packet loss measurements may be used to count the lost packets in the connections between different nodes. Additionally, throughput measurements may be useful to assess the quality of connections in a network or to gather traffic data. Throughput measurements may be used to determine the average rate of successful message delivery over a communication channel. This data may be delivered over a physical or logical link, or passed through a certain network node. The throughput is usually measured in bits per second (bit/s or bps), and sometimes in data packets per second or data packets per time slot.